Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cerebrii?
Cerebrii is a 3D brain atlas for iPhone and Ipod touch. It incorporates current anatomical features into an interactive environment that allows for visualization of structures throughout the brain & related structures.
Why did I write Cerebrii?
Understanding the volumetric/spatial relationship of various brain structures, namely the internal nuclei and ganglia, is difficult by using brain slices alone. Understanding how the caudate nucleus twists around in three dimensions was an ‘ah ha’ moment - I hope that this simplifies the process.
What can Cerebrii do?
The primary goal was to create an fully interactive environment.
In the default (free view) mode:
- You can rotate the current view along the Anterior-Posterior and Superior-Inferior axes using a single finger drag.
- To select an object, use a single finger to double-tap the object. The selection may appear tricky initially, but you’ll get used to the precision (I hope).
- If an object appears above or below the center of the screen, a two-finger drag may be used to translate the view vertically.
- A two-finger pinch motion allows you to zoom in/out on the model of interest.
- To navigate the anatomical model sets:
- The red magnifying glass will bring up a list of all regions visible on the current layer.
- The up arrow will navigate to the next available scene.
- The down arrow will navigate to the previous scene.
- The star button will cycle through a series of 10 pre-defined views of the model.
- Shaking the phone any time a region is selected will bring up a web search option
In the exam mode, a few options have been added and removed from the controls. Two options are available in exam mode: Review & Exam.
- In Review, you can cycle through questions/solutions pertaining to the current layer.
- The green arrow will request the next question.
- The red arrow will request the previous question.
- In Exam, you can cycle through questions pertaining to each layer.
- To answer, first double tap to select the region. Click on the check mark to confirm
- If you’re correct, the region will appear green for a short time before getting the next question
- If you’re incorrect, the region will turn red. Try again.
- If you’re stuck: the question mark while show you the correct answer and then move to the next question
- To navigate the anatomical model sets in Review/Exam:
- The up arrow will navigate to the next available scene.
- The down arrow will navigate to the previous scene.
- The star button will cycle through a series of 10 pre-defined views of the model.
Wait - Questions?
The first part of Cerebrii was creating the environment. The second part is making it useful. I’ve compiled a large collection of structural and functional questions to test yourself on across various layers. The structure questions will focus on the absolute and relative locations of the anatomical regions while the functional questions will focus on the roles/interactions/functions of each region.
How many questions?
~ 650 in Version 1.0. I made Cerebrii easily extendable, so if you would like to see additional questions incorporated into the set, please email them to me and I’ll include them in the next point release.
What areas are covered in Version 1.0?
There are 200+ models in the current version separated into the following layers. (There is some overlap to provide reference landmarks - denoted ‘LM’ in the app)
When will the next version be released?
As I am a graduate student first and a hobby developer second, the next release (not including bug-fixes/errors) will occur following my successful thesis defense. However, if a new piece of hardware gets released by Apple in the near future, I will likely port Cerebrii to it with higher resolution models as soon as I get my hands on the SDK.
Why charge for it?
Cerebrii will list for $11.99 - the price of ~ 4 Starbucks Grande’ drinks. Of that, 30% will go to Apple, 20% will go to charity, and 50% will go to me to recover development costs and pay for more model sets. Over the next few years any $$ I make from this app will pale in comparison to my medical school debts, but every bit will help.
Charity?
Yes, you heard correct. I will be donating 20% of net sales to charities in $5,000 increments. If you decide to pirate this app, please consider sending a $2.00 donation via paypal - No action will be taken beyond that. Once the $5,000 mark is reached, I will donate the amount to one of the charities listed below and make an announcement. I will also take suggestions for future charities. If you are concerned my approach or require validation, please email me directly and I’ll gladly discuss why I chose these charities of the many possible.
I’m a student but I can’t afford $12.00?
If there was a mechanism in place for me to provide discounts to current medical students, I would. A free alternative to Cerebrii can be found here: Brain Tutor 3d I’d like to think that Cerebrii provides significant improvements over Brain tutor: interactive selection, reviews and exams, subcortical structures (!), and cranial nerve anatomy. Brain Tutor is a reference tool put together as an advertisement for the Brainvoyager Suite, Cerebrii is a study tool put together by me for fellow students.
What’s next?
As mentioned previously - I will release a few point releases that include more questions, bug fixes, and models if they become available. If time allows (which it never does) - I will attempt to implement the following:
- Spinal cord anatomy
- Spinocortical and Corticospinal tracts.
- Questions sorted by difficulty level & a high score/ progress report.
- Increased engine performance and better graphical appearance
- Background Music from Itunes Library (upon OS 3.0 release)